SommaTech Consulting Announces Formation of Technical Advisory Board

Somerset, NJ, October 25, 2006

SommaTech Consulting, helping clients achieve their FDA regulated product goals for a fast submission and seamless approval, today announced the formation of its newly formed Technical Advisory Board providing access to a select group of individuals with a broad range of strategic and operational knowledge and diverse expertise to assist specialty pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics, and medical device companies introduce new products and services to help optimize their operations and accelerate growth...

SommaTech Consulting, helping clients achieve their FDA regulated product goals for a fast submission and seamless approval, today announced the formation of its newly formed Technical Advisory Board providing access to a select group of individuals with a broad range of strategic and operational knowledge and diverse expertise to assist specialty pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics, and medical device companies introduce new products and services to help optimize their operations and accelerate growth. The Technical Advisory Board is chartered with providing expert guidance and strategic direction for the benefit of SommaTech Consulting and its clients. The Technical Advisory Board, in addition to the already established management team, presents an unprecedented combination of academic and industry expertise that our clients can benefit from.

“We are delighted to assemble such a knowledgeable group of advisors as members of SommaTech’s Technical Advisory Board,” aid Russell Somma, Ph.D., President. “The Technical Advisory Board provides access to extensive industry knowledge and technical expertise relevant to biopharmaceutical and life sciences companies.”

The members of the newly formed SommaTech Technical Advisory Board include:

Lawrence H. Block, Ph.D. – Dr. Block is Professor of Pharmaceutics at the Mylan School of Pharmacy and Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Duquesne University. He currently serves as a member of the United States Pharmacopeia's Council of Experts and is Chair of the Excipient Monographs 2 Expert Committee. He is a recipient of the Duquesne University President's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and a Fellow of the APhA-APRS. Dr. Block is a Past Chair of both the Teachers of Pharmaceutics Section of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and the Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences Section of the APhA-APRS. Dr. Block’s research interests embrace excipient characterization, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug and cosmetic delivery system technology, and pharmaceutical engineering.

Metin Celik, Ph.D. - Dr. Çelik is founder and President of Pharmaceutical Technologies International, Inc., and a Pharmaceutical Processing Research Professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering, Rutgers University. Dr. Çelik was employed by Sandoz-Switzerland and Sandoz-Turkey prior to joining Smith Kline & French Laboratories where he established the first state-of-art Compaction Simulator System in the western hemisphere. He developed a second unit at Rutgers University, the first unit in US academia, and established an internationally recognized research center. Dr. Çelik has acted a consultant to the FDA and to over forty-five global pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, excipient, and equipment companies. Areas of interest include Process Analytical Technology (PAT), use of compaction simulators in the prefomulation and formulation of solid dosage forms; theory and practice of pharmaceutical compaction; excipient functionality testing; and pharmaceutical processing.

James K. Drennen, III, Ph.D. – Dr. Drennen is presently Division Head of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics at the Mylan School of Pharmacy and Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and co-founder and Director, Center for Pharmaceutical Technology at Duquesne University. In addition, he is Founding Editor of Journal of Pharmaceutical Innovation and North American Editor, Journal of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy. Dr. Drennen has consulted widely with the pharmaceutical industry and is a partner in the consulting firm Strategic Process Control Technologies, LLC.

Peter K. Kilpatrick, Ph.D. - With more than 25 years of experience in chemical engineering and biopharmaceutical manufacturing consulting, Dr. Kilpatrick is Director, Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) and Department Head, Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University. Dr. Kilpatrick has consulted for numerous large biopharmaceutical and technology companies. His areas of interest include surfactant and interfacial science; fluid microstructure; colloidal aggregates; phase equilibria and biotechnology.

Lewis J. Leeson, Ph.D. – Dr. Leeson is presently President, LJL Associates, Inc., a pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) consultancy. During his 24-year tenure Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Leeson held numerous positions with increasing management responsibilities in pharmaceutical R&D. In 1986, Dr. Leeson was appointed Distinguished Research Fellow in Biopharmaceutics, a title given to an individual considered to be in in-house expert and a similar worldwide reputation in this field of expertise. He is Member, U.S. Pharmacopeia Expert Committee on Biopharmaceutics and a member of Advisory Board for Dissolution Technologies. Dr. Leeson was conferred Fellow of American Association for Pharmaceutical Sciences (AAPS) and Academy Pharmaceutical Sciences (APS).

Nicholas G. Lordi, Ph.D. – Nicholas G. Lordi, Ph.D. - Dr. Lordi possesses over fifty years of experience in pharmaceutics. Following an illustrious tenure, Dr. Lordi is presently Emeritus Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers the State University of New Jersey. During his tenure, he was also Director, Pharmaceutical Compaction Research Laboratory and Information Center (PCRLIC) at Rutgers. Dr. Lordi's research interests are physical stability of solid and semi-solid dosage forms, coating, drug polymer interactions, controlled drug release technology, packaging science and technology.

About Russell Somma, Ph.D. - Dr. Russ Somma has been involved in production support, scale-up, pilot plant as well as early and full development activities of pharmaceutical products, which include novel as well as traditional dosage forms during his 29 year tenure with Novartis. He has provided support for 21 NDAs in the chemistry, manufacturing and control area from submission through the pre approval inspection phase. As president of SommaTech, an affiliate company of IPS, his focus is on pharmaceutical technology and helping clients achieve their FDA regulated product goals for a fast submission, seamless approval as well as assuring a cost effective product and a secure supply chain. He is the past chairman of ISPE’s SUPAC Equipment Guidance Steering Committee. He currently chairs the ISPE-Professional Certification Commission. Dr. Somma has been a welcomed keynote speaker and presenter at many pharmaceutical industry association meetings and has written and co-authored several technical papers and studies. Dr. Somma earned as Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Technology under N.G. Lordi at Rutgers University College of Pharmacy, a BS degree in Pharmacy and a MS degree also from Rutgers University.